Hartford carol singers head 'Back to the Times' on Tuesday

Christmas carolers during the 2017 "Back to the Times" carol sing. From left is Dorothy Kerrigan with grandchildren Elle Bernand, Jude Bernard, and Avery Kerrigan. At center with fur hat is Sheila Kerrigan and at right is UConn employee Debra Borrero. (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant)

Christmas carolers will fill the steps of the UConn Hartford campus on Tuesday night, for the second annual revival of a decades-old holiday tradition.

The “Back to the Times” Carol Sing begins at 5 p.m., at 10 Prospect St., the old Hartford Times building, where people would gather and sing each Christmas season in the 1960s and ’70s. Participation is open to all.

The event returned to Hartford last year, organized by iQuilt, a local initiative to promote and attract visitors downtown.

The crowd sang from vintage carol books, and mixed in contemporary tunes, for about half an hour while the road was closed to traffic.

iQuilt is also the co-producer of Winterfest Hartford, a month of free programming in Bushnell Park that includes an ice skating rink, games in the Pump House Gallery, and the carousel’s transformation into Santa’s Workshop.